Around 1,700 UK households were left in limbo after heating oil suppliers cancelled orders, forcing customers to re-purchase at sharply inflated prices or go without, according to a new Competition and Markets Authority review. Some households paid between £150 and £350 more for replacement orders during the price spike.
The disruption followed a surge in wholesale oil markets triggered by the Iran war in February, which drove prices from roughly $70 a barrel to nearly $120 by late March. UK heating oil retail prices peaked at 123 pence per litre in April, a 92% increase, with Northern Ireland hit especially hard as two-thirds of households there rely on home heating oil.
The CMA has recommended a new regulatory regime requiring suppliers to register and meet minimum standards, including clearer rules on price quotations and cancellations. Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the lack of protection for the more than 1.5 million households reliant on heating oil concerns her and that she would examine what could be done.